A paedophile who groomed a young boy via online gaming before sexually assaulting him has been jailed.

Nathan Hastings took over his victim’s life, after making contact through the Xbox Live gaming platform, with a 16-month campaign of ‘controlled abuse’.

The 26-year-old had such a damaging impact on the boy’s life that he ‘prevented him from enjoying his childhood’.

Hastings, from Crewe, first contacted his victim in 2014, then started travelling to Manchester on a daily basis to visit him.

He manipulated the boy, who was only 11-years-old at the time, and dominated his life to the point that he felt isolated from his friends and family.

He also sexually assaulted the young victim on two occasions.

Nathan Hastings, from Crewe, has been jailed for four years

Hastings, of Tatton Road, was sentenced at Minshull Street Crown Court to four years in prison after being found guilty of grooming and two charges of sexually assaulting a child.

Speaking after his sentencing, Det Con Anna Barker, of the GMP’s Phoenix Tameside CSE team, said: “Nathan Hastings knew full well how old his victim was and that what he was doing was wrong, yet he continued his campaign of abuse without showing a shred of remorse.